"Break My Heart" is a song by English-Albanian singer
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
from her second studio album, ''
Future Nostalgia'' (2020). The song was written by Lipa,
Ali Tamposi,
Stefan Johnson
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...
,
Jordan K. Johnson
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...
, and
Andrew Watt, while the production was handled by Watt alongside
the Monsters & Strangerz
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander "Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcus ...
. Due to a similarity to the guitar riff in
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
's 1987 song "
Need You Tonight", band members
Andrew Farriss and
Michael Hutchence are also credited as writers, and the similarity is credited as an
interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
. The song was released for
digital download and
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
through
Warner Records as the third
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from ''Future Nostalgia'' on 25 March 2020. It is a
retro-futuristic
Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipatin ...
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
and
disco-funk song with elements of
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
1980s music
__NOTOC__
Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...
that is set to a
Europop beat. A vulnerable song, it sees Lipa questioning whether a new love will leave her broken-hearted.
Several
music critics commended the production elements of "Break My Heart" as well as its "Need You Tonight" interpolation; some thought it sounded too similar to its influences. The song placed on numerous best of 2020 year-end lists, including ones published by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', ''
The New York Times'' and
NPR, while also receiving numerous awards as well as nominations including
Song of the Summer Song of the summer is the unofficial designation of the song that is dominant both culturally and commercially between the end of May and the beginning of September in a given year. Although the idea of a song of the summer had been around for years ...
at the
2020 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. Keke Palmer hosted the 37th annual ceremony, which was presented primarily from the channel headquarter in New York City, but with a virtual segments held in another cities,due the C ...
and Song of the Year at the
46th People's Choice Awards
The 46th ceremony of the People's Choice Awards was held on November 15, 2020, to honor the best in popular culture for 2020. The show was hosted by Demi Lovato and was broadcast live by E! at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. The ...
. Commercially, the song reached the top ten of charts in twenty-one countries, including a number one peak in Israel. This also included the
UK Singles Chart, where the song peaked at number six. The song is
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
platinum or higher in ten countries, including a double diamond certification in Brazil, a double platinum certification in Australia and a platinum certification in the UK.
The
music video for "Break My Heart" premiered on 26 March 2020. It was directed by Henry Scholfield and filmed in
Bulgaria. The video features 1990s-influenced slide clips that see Lipa in numerous situations going from vulnerable to empowered after she falls for someone who's pulling away from her. Some of these situations include running through a traffic-jammed block, dancing in a club and dancing on the end of a broken plane. Several critics praised the high quality of the video and its use of colour. It won Best Pop Video at the 2020
UK Music Video Awards. Lipa performed the song on numerous occasions, including on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'', ''
Big Brother Brasil 20'' and ''
Graduate Together''. Several remixes including ones by
Jax Jones,
Joris Voorn and
Moon Boots were also released.
Writing and production
"Break My Heart" was written by
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
,
Ali Tamposi,
Andrew Watt,
Stefan Johnson
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...
and
Jordan K. Johnson
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...
and was produced by
the Monsters & Strangerz
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander "Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcus ...
alongside Watt.
The Monsters & Strangerz had wanted to work with Lipa for a while and had their management contact Lipa's
A&R, Joe Kentish, and manager Ben Mawson. Their management knew the latter from a previous
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
collaboration. A studio session was arranged between The Monsters & Strangerz, Tamposi, and Lipa, which was successful, however, the Monsters & Strangerz thought that they would have a better session with Watt. A session was arranged with him at his studio.
Lipa was nervous going into the session due to the fact that she had not worked with Watt. Lipa found it hard to be open and vulnerable with people she does not know. However, Lipa later realised it is easy to do so.
She additionally found it helpful that the co-writers knew her boyfriend, which allowed Lipa to be more open.
Lipa intended to create a song that was cohesive and had a theme running through it.
The session started with all the writers staring at a "disco" sign in Watt's studio.
Whenever he worked with a new artist, Watt always recorded a simple guitar riff on his phone as place to start with them.
He broke the ice with Lipa by playing her the sample. She expressed her admiration for it, but thought it was not for her.
To give him an idea of her musical style, Lipa played Watt about half of her ''
Future Nostalgia'' album which he described as "perfect".
The collaborators were unsure where to begin with the song, ultimately deciding to start with the melody. They started with the guitar before Lipa began putting her thoughts into song form.
Watt played a bass lick, inspired by what he equated to be "funky music". Lipa loved the sound and told him to record it; they later decided to synchronize the hook with the bass line. All writers had many ideas for the melody and helped write it.
Lipa recalled needing the melody to make sense of writing the lyrics. She was inspired by the initial stages of falling in love but thinking in the back of one's mind, "this is too good to be true". Lipa recalled being out of her comfort zone while writing the song, but learning a lesson to write in that state as she writes the best songs then.
"Break My Heart" was written, tracked and produced in one night.
Watt recalled that the collaborators were "on fire" and "nailed it" while also mentioning that Lipa "such a confident place" and she "brought it on another level".
While listening back to the song, Lipa and her collaborators noticed a similarity between the song and "
Need You Tonight" (1987) by Australian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
. The collaborators did not want to get sued, so band members
Andrew Farriss and
Michael Hutchence were credited as writers and INXS were given a publishing credit. Lipa admired this situation as it "brought nostalgia even more to the forefront" of the album.
Farriss later expressed his appreciation for Lipa for asking for permission to use the
interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
while saying it is "kind of bizarre" to hear Lipa interpret it in that way. "Break My Heart" was recorded and tracked at Gold Tooth Music in
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
and Oddities Studio in London; the vocals were also recorded at the latter location.
Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...
mixed the song at the Mixsuite in Los Angeles with Dave Kutch mastering it at the Mastering Palace in New York.
Music and lyrics
Musically, "Break My Heart" is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
and
disco-funk song with
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
1980s
File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
elements.
It has a length of 3:41 and is constructed in
verse–chorus form. The song is composed in
time and the
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
of
E minor, with a
tempo of 113 beats per minute.
The verses and
choruses have a
chord progression of Em–G–Fdim–Em–C–Bm–D, while the
bridges follow a Cmaj7–D6–Bm7–Em7–D6 sequence and the
middle eight follows a C–D–G/B–Bm–Em–Bm/D–C–D–Em7–B7–B chord progression.
The song interpolates the rhythm guitar melody from "Need You Tonight" by INXS.
"Break My Heart" has a
retro-futuristic
Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipatin ...
sound,
with the production consisting of a bouncing-ball bass, handclaps, a funk guitar line,
disco violins,
and a
Europop beat.
"Break My Heart" opens with a
bassline
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...
and
synths
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
, both of which were categorized as bouncy, and a
hi-hat
A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...
drum.
In the pre-chorus, the song features a funky bassline and sweeping strings, while the music drops out in the middle and abruptly crashes back shortly after for the chorus.
As the song eases into its chorus, the instruments are stripped back with a swaggering guitar riff underscoring each lyric, while a
techno-adjacent bassline is also included, alongside a staccato bass rhythm.
The second verse includes a drum kit and the second pre-chorus is driven by a
string section.
Lipa's vocals span a range of
E3 to
B4, and she makes use of
spoken word deliveries.
Described by Lipa as a "celebration of vulnerability", "Break My Heart" sees her question whether a new love will leave her broken hearted.
She tells a cautionary love tale and mentions the "shoulda, woulda, coulda's" of relationship choices.
The lyrics of the chorus were compared to the
COVID-19 pandemic's
social distancing measures.
Release and promotion
It was first revealed that "Break My Heart" had been recorded for ''Future Nostalgia'' in January 2020, after the song leaked along with fellow album track "
Physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
".
Later that month, the song was confirmed to be on the album's tracklist in the ninth position. Lipa confirmed that the song would serve as the third
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from the album in March 2020, during an interview with Australian TV show ''
Sunrise''. She began teasing the release shortly thereafter. On 20 March 2020, Lipa announced that the song would be released a week later; however, ''Future Nostalgia'' leaked shortly thereafter, leading to the release of "Break My Heart" being pushed up. The song was released through
Warner Records on 25 March 2020 for
digital download and
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
, with it appearing on the album which was released two days later. "Break My Heart" was accompanied by a
lyric video and
Spotify vertical video
A vertical video is a video created either by a camera or computer that is intended for viewing in portrait mode, producing an image that is taller than it is wide. It thus sits in opposition to the multiple horizontal formats normalised by cin ...
, released on 9 and 25 April 2020, respectively.
The song impacted
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
formats in the United States on 31 March as well as
adult contemporary radio
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...
on 27 April, serving as the album's second single in the US.
It was released for
radio airplay in Italy on 15 May 2020.
In 2021, a sound pack for "Break My Heart" was included in
GarageBand
GarageBand is a line of digital audio workstations developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand is developed by Apple for macOS, and was once part of the iLife software s ...
where users could create remixes for the song.
Animated video
"Break My Heart" was accompanied by an
animated video, which is a
fullscreen version of the vertical video.
It was directed by Marco Pavone and premiered via
YouTube on 8 May 2020.
The video is set as taking place in the
Andromeda Galaxy on the fictional planet of BMH1.
The visual opens with an animated Lipa flying into BMH1, a colourless and desolate planet.
She wears a pink space suit, reminiscent of animated TV series ''
Totally Spies!''.
Lipa is in search of a jeweled heart, which she finds in a cave. However, when she begins to leave, a giant robot appears and begins to attack her. Lipa eventually fights off the robot and flies away.
Throughout the animated video, clips of Lipa falling from the sky into a city, wearing a pink outfit, are also shown.
Live performances
Lipa has promoted "Break My Heart" with multiple live performances. She first performed the song with a virtual performance for
Amazon Music UK on 30 March 2020. Lipa also gave a virtual performance of the song for ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' on 8 April of that year. The performance featured Lipa sitting in front of a blank wall before the background started changing to city time-lapses and eventually to the ''Tonight Show'' set. On 22 April 2020, she virtually performed the song on ''
Big Brother Brasil 20''. Lipa performed the song for ''
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020'' on 16 May. Lipa performed an acoustic version of the song for the ''
FIFA 21'' world premiere on 1 October 2020. It was included on the setlist of Lipa's 2022
Future Nostalgia Tour.
Remixes
Several remixes of the song have also been released. The first remix was by
Jax Jones, known as the Midnight Snack Remix, and released on 22 May 2020.
It reimagines the track as a euphoric
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
song with funk-driven melodies and stomping basslines. On 29 May 2020, a remix of "Break My Heart" by
Joris Voorn was released.
It was accompanied by a
music video, which was uploaded to Voorn's
YouTube channel the same day. The video sees Voorn performing the remix on a rooftop. Remixes by Solardo and
Moon Boots had respective releases on 12 June 2020.
The "shimmery" and "funky" Moon Boots remix adds percussion, piano stabs and party sounds to the song, giving it "bounce".
Lipa was scheduled to release a remix of the song featuring fans playing the instruments, however it went unreleased.
A remix by Moodymann and a mashup with the
Dimitri from Paris dubwize remix of
Jamiroquai's "
Cosmic Girl", titled "Break My Heart / Cosmic Girl" (Dimitri from Paris Edit) appear on Lipa and
the Blessed Madonna's
DJ Mix-crafted remix album ''
Club Future Nostalgia
''Club Future Nostalgia'' is a remix album by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa and American DJ the Blessed Madonna. A DJ mix edition of it was released on 28 August 2020, with the standard edition following on 11 September of the same year. Th ...
'', released 28 August 2020,
while the original Moodymann remix was released on 11 September 2020.
The funkier mashup was created by the Blessed Madonna after Lipa mentioned that Jamiroquai was one of her reference points. Moodymann adjusts his sound to fit Lipa's on his remix, a modern dance and
Detroit house track. The track makes us of a bass lick, cowbells, weird ambiance as well as clinking bottles and menacing laugh sound effects and looped vocals. The remix was placed as the tenth best dance song of 2020 by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''.
Critical reception
Neil Z. Yeung of
AllMusic praised the song's mix of inspirations, and Brittany Spanos from ''
Rolling Stone'' labelled the INXS influence "bewitching". In a separate ''Rolling Stone'' review, Althea Legaspi called "Break My Heart" a "dance-driven song" who's "sentiment is soothed by a beat that aims for the dance floor". ''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
''s Mike Nied wrote that the song adds "depth" to Lipa's discography, while calling it a "stone-cold bop". He continued, describing its beats as "deceptively bright", while viewing the song as "retro-inspired".
Courteney Larocca and Callie Ahlgrim, writing for ''
Business Insider Australia
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'', praised the song's "polished" and "minimalistic" production.
''
God Is in the TV
''God Is in the TV'' is an independent music and culture online magazine founded by editor Bill Cummings in Cardiff in 2003. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interviews, podcasts and media. The webzine's coverage varies from un ...
''s Jonathan Wright praised the song's bassline, calling it "spectacular", while Thomas Stichbury of ''
Attitude
Attitude may refer to:
Philosophy and psychology
* Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value
* Metaphysics of presence
* Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
'' stated that the bassline is "broody".
''
Crack Magazine
''Crack'' is a monthly independent music and culture magazine distributed across Europe.
Founded in Bristol in the UK in 2009, the magazine has featured Björk, MF Doom, Lil Yachty, FKA twigs, Gorillaz and Queens of the Stone Age on the cover. T ...
''s Michael Cragg categorised Lipa's vocals on the song as "swollen".
Rob Harvilla of ''
The Ringer'' highlighted "Break My Heart" as ''Future Nostalgia''s lustiest track, and Bianca Gracie, for ''Billboard'' called it a "downright sexy jam".
For ''
Under the Radar'', Conrad Duncan complimented it for playing to Lipa's strengths as a "fantastically sleek dance record for those who suspect they may be better off single rather than forcing love with people too immature to give or receive it". In the ''
Gay Times'', Daniel Megarry called the song "effortlessly cool" and stated it "culminates in one of the catchiest sure-to-be-hits of the year". ''
Gigwise
''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England.
History
Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...
'' editor Jordan Emery complimented the sample saying it sounds "even more fun now than it ever did". Bailey Slater of ''
Wonderland
Wonderland may refer to:
Places
Municipalities
* Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County
* Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Roads, streets, and trails
* Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los Ang ...
'' praised Lipa for tackling the subject of "romance and all its tribulations" in a "more hedonistic way than before", giving listeners the "well-needed hope and self-assurance that love isn’t all doom and gloom after all".
Chris Willman of ''
Variety'' compared the song's funk guitar line to the music of
Chic, while ''
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
''s Nick Smith compared the line to "
Lovefool" (1996) by
The Cardigans.
The ''
PopMatters'' staff gave mixed reviews, averaging "Break My Heart" at 5.67/10. Ian Rushbury gave a 5/10, calling it a "forgettable piece of airbrushed
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
", while Jordan Blum rated the song 4/10, comparing it to "
Just Give Me a Reason" (2013) by
Pink, as well as calling it "unoriginal", "disposable", and "blatant plagiarism". Steve Horowitz provided the most positive review at ''PopMatters'', giving the song an 8/10, praising its meaning and production.
Jim Farber of ''
Vogue'' opined that "Break My Heart" is a contender for song of the summer, viewing it as "exciting, catchy and totally danceable".
In ''
Time'', Raisa Bruner wrote that the song is "bouncy and sparkling with a get-up-and-dance spirit".
Accolades
"Break My Heart" placed on year-end, best of 2020 lists by numerous publications. ''
Genius'' ranked it as the fourth best song of the year. ''Billboard'' hailed the song as 2020's tenth best song. That publication also placed the "Need You Tonight" interpolation as one of the best interpolations of the 21st century with writer Andrew Unterberger saying it "adds to both the anxiety and allure" of the song's hook.
NPR placed it as 2020's 39th best song while writer Otis Hart ranked it at number two on his year-end list. In ''
The New York Times'', writer
Jon Caramanica
Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...
ranked it as the 29th best song of the year on his year-end list. "Break My Heart" also received numerous awards and nominations. It was nominated for Most Performed Australian Work and Most Performed Pop Work at the
APRA Music Awards of 2021, Favorite International Hit at the
2020 Nickelodeon Meus Prêmios Nick
The 2020 Meus Prêmios Nick Awards were held on September 27, 2020, in São Paulo, Brazil. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event did not have an audience and was broadcast live on television and on Nickelodeon's social media network ...
, Global Hit at the 2020
MTV Millennial Awards Brazil
The MTV Millennial Awards Brazil (commonly abbreviated as MTV MIAW BR) were established by MTV Brazil in 2018 to celebrate music, television and internet artists. The first edition happened in May 2018 and was hosted by Whindersson Nunes in São ...
,
Song of Summer at the
2020 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. Keke Palmer hosted the 37th annual ceremony, which was presented primarily from the channel headquarter in New York City, but with a virtual segments held in another cities,due the C ...
, and Song of the Year at the
46th People's Choice Awards
The 46th ceremony of the People's Choice Awards was held on November 15, 2020, to honor the best in popular culture for 2020. The show was hosted by Demi Lovato and was broadcast live by E! at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. The ...
. The song won an
ASCAP Pop Music Award for Winning Songwriters at the 2021 ceremony as well as a 202
Hito Pop Music Award for Western Songs of the Year. It was awarded an
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
Titanium Award for receiving one billions spins on the station in the United States.
Commercial performance
In the United Kingdom, "Break My Heart" debuted at number 76 on the
UK Singles Downloads Chart dated 27 March 2020. The following week, it entered the
UK Singles Chart at its peak position of number six, becoming Lipa's fifteenth entry on the chart and her ninth single to appear in the top ten.
The song spent a total of 20 consecutive weeks on the chart, dropping out in August 2020.
In January 2021, the song was certified platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for selling 600,000 track-equivalent units in the United Kingdom.
On the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, the song debuted at number three, its peak position, behind Lipa's previous single "
Physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
" (2020) and "
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
" (2019) by
Saint Jhn.
The song debuted at number 83 on the
Scottish Singles Chart dated 27 March 2020, after only one day of tracking. It later peaked at number 14 on the chart four weeks later.
In Germany, "Break My Heart" reached number 26 while it peaked at number 56 in France.
The song was awarded a platinum certification for selling 200,000 track-equivalent units in France, from the
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...
(SNEP).
In Australia, the song debuted at its peak position of number seven on the
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, becoming Lipa's sixth top ten entry on the chart. It spent two non-consecutive weeks in the position and spent 27 weeks on the chart.
The song was awarded a double platinum certification from the
Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 140,000 track-equivalent units.
On the
New Zealand singles chart, the song spent 20 weeks with a debut and peak of number 12.
The
Recorded Music NZ
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...
awarded the song a platinum certification for selling 30,000 track-equivalent units in New Zealand.
In the United States, "Break My Heart" debuted at number 21 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated 11 April 2020, Lipa's highest debut on the chart. In its 20th week on the chart, the song peaked at number 13, and left the chart 12 weeks later.
The
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) awarded the song a platinum certification for sales of 1,000,000 track-equivalent units in the US.
On the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
, "Break My Heart" debuted at number 47 in April 2020 and later peaked at number 13 in July of the year.
For track-equivalent unit sales of 320,000 in Canada, the song was awarded a four times platinum certification from
Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...
.
In Brazil, the song reached number 43 and was awarded a double diamond certification from
Pro-Música Brasil for track-equivalent sales of 320,000 units.
It also charted at number 23 on Brazil's April 2020 monthly streaming chart.
Music video
Background and production
The accompanying music video for "Break My Heart" premiered via
YouTube on 26 March 2020. It was directed by Henry Scholfield, who also directed Lipa's videos for "
Lost in Your Light
"Lost in Your Light" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa featuring American singer Miguel for Lipa's eponymous debut studio album (2017). The song was written by Lipa, Miguel and Rick Nowels, while production was handled by Miguel ...
", "
New Rules
"New Rules" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa from her eponymous debut studio album (2017). The song was written by Caroline Ailin, Emily Warren and Ian Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick also handled the production and offered it to Lipa ...
" (both 2017), and "
IDGAF" (2018).
The visual was shot in
Bulgaria in January 2020 over the course of three days. It features slide clips that were inspired by the 1990s as well as a colour palette from the early works of
Pedro Almodóvar and iridescent landscapes from Japanese hotels.
During filming for the video, Lipa had a case of the flu. For creation of it,
VFX, wire work, and a tilting set were used.
The sets for the music video were built across three stages and designed by Mark Connell.
Synopsis
The music video begins with Lipa jumping on cars and walking through a traffic-jammed city block, while wearing a red jacket and black pants.
The passengers in the cars are couples going through different parts of a relationship, with some kissing and some arguing.
As she walks, one of the cars turns into a toy car being played with by a child outside of a man's vibrant, futuristic apartment.
Lipa is then seen wearing a purple cardigan, black tights, white shoes and a skirt of the same colour.
She walks into the man's apartment, struggling to maintain her balance in the apartment.
This is a metaphor for Lipa being uncertain about whether her feelings are being reciprocated.
After the scene, the apartment turns into a model boat on display in a neon-lit club, that tips to signify their relationship has taken a turn for the worst. In the club, Lipa observes various couples going through issues.
She starts to dance on a disco floor in the middle of the restaurant before a wall explodes and she is sucked out.
Lipa lands on an airplane seat, followed by her getting up on the plane and walking to the back before it breaks in two.
Lipa wears a pink wool jacket, and skirt with black lining, over a black shirt.
She then begins to dance on the end of the plane before a life raft explodes on her, leading to Lipa waking up in a bed with a confused partner.
She is seen wearing a pink
Bambi wool sweater with white pants.
Lipa runs scared into the bathroom, picking up her shoes, and beds with other men begin cycling through in the background.
She then falls into the bathtub, which turns into a frothy pink martini that one of Lipa's backup dancers is holding while she dances on a bar couch.
Lipa wears a Mirror Palais cropped red shirt and red and white checked tweed mini skirt.
The music video concludes by looking at all the previous scenes and undoing some of the transitions, before Lipa blows a bubble sitting on a car from the first scene.
Reception
Shannon Miller of ''
The A.V. Club'' called the visual a "colorful music video punctuated with mind-bending effects and
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
-lit sets".
Rushbury labelled it a "multi-million-dollar remake" of the video for "
Common People" (1995) by
Pulp, writing that the clip has "snazzy visuals and couture outfits".
In ''Soundigest'', Kenly Campos wrote that the video is "extremely well-made" with its "colorful outfits and bubbly choreography".
Callie Ahlgrim of ''
Insider'' described the video as "Lipa serving a variety of retro looks, dancing her cares away, and cycling through suitors in a surreal dreamscape." ''
NME''s Tom Skinner branded the visual "eye-popping" and "location-hopping".
Writing for ''Idolator'', Mike Wass called the sets "candy-colored", the choreography "laissez-faire", and wrote "Dua treats us to look after look, sullen glances".
The "Break My Heart" music video was ranked as the 22nd best music video of 2020 by ''Billboard'' while ''
Insider'' ranked it at number 32 on their year-end list for music videos. The video was a winning video at the 2020
MTV Video Play Awards, won International Female Video at the 2020
MTV Video Music Awards Japan and was nominated for Best International Video at the 2020
MVPA Awards
The MVPA Awards are held by the Music Video Production Association, the trade organization for the American music video industry, since 1992. MVPA Awards honor the best music videos in a variety of aspects, which includes music video production an ...
. At the
UK Music Video Awards, the video won for Best Pop Video, and was nominated for Best Colour Grading in a Video in association with CHEAT, and Best Visual Effects in a Video at the 2020
UK Music Video Awards.
Track listings
*Digital download and streaming
#"Break My Heart" – 3:41
*Digital download and streaming – Jax Jones Midnight Snack remix
#"Break My Heart" (
Jax Jones Midnight Snack remix) – 3:43
*Digital download and streaming – Jax Jones Midnight Snack remix – Austrian, German and Swiss version
#"Break My Heart" (Jax Jones Midnight Snack remix) – 3:43
#"Break My Heart" – 3:41
*Digital download and streaming – Joris Voorn remix
#"Break My Heart" (
Joris Voorn remix) – 6:32
*Digital download and streaming – Joris Voorn remix – Austrian, German and Swiss version /
Spotify single
#"Break My Heart" (Joris Voorn remix) – 6:32
#"Break My Heart" – 3:41
*Digital download and streaming – Solardo remix
#"Break My Heart" (Solardo remix) – 7:16
*Digital download and streaming – Moon Boots remix
#"Break My Heart" (
Moon Boots remix) – 2:59
*Streaming – Moon Boots remix – Spotify single
#"Break My Heart" (Moon Boots remix) – 2:59
#"Break My Heart" – 3:41
*Digital download and streaming – Moon Boots extended remix
#"Break My Heart" (Moon Boots extended remix) – 4:46
*Digital download and streaming – Moodymann remix
#"Break My Heart" (Moodymann remix) – 5:52
Personnel
*
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
vocals
*
Andrew Watt production, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, tambourine, programming, instrumentation
*
The Monsters & Strangerz
The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander "Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcus ...
production, keyboards, programming, instrumentation
* Gian Stone vocal production
*
Chad Smith drums
* Paul Lamalfa engineering
* Matt Wolach assistant mix engineering
* Michael Freeman assistant mix engineering
*
Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...
mixing
* Dave Kutch mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of top 10 singles in 2020 (Australia)
This is a list of single (music), singles that charted in the top ten of the ARIA Charts in 2020. In 2020, thirty-three acts reached the top ten for the first time.
Top-ten singles
Key
2018 peaks
2019 peaks
2021 peaks
Notes:
...
*
List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2020
*
List of UK top-ten singles in 2020
Footnotes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Lyrics of this songat ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
{{authority control
2020 singles
2020 songs
British disco songs
Dua Lipa songs
Warner Records singles
Songs written by Dua Lipa
Songs written by Ali Tamposi
Songs written by Andrew Watt (record producer)
Songs written by Stefan Johnson
Songs written by Jordan Johnson (songwriter)
Songs written by Michael Hutchence
Songs written by Andrew Farriss
Music videos shot in Bulgaria
Number-one singles in Israel